Tag Archives: portable

I posted a few days ago regarding the release of the new Macintosh OS X version of TrueCrypt. For those that don’t know, TrueCrypt is a free, open source application that enables you to create an encrypted files that, using the TrueCrypt application, can be mounted as a drive on a host machine. The exciting thing is that this new version of TrueCrypt makes it possible to create a cross platform encrypted volumes! This post is a step by step instruction on how to create a portable, cross platform, encrypted volume that will allow you to carry your data securely and access it on any Windows, Mac and I assume Linux based computers.

Before we get into the main instruction, I want to highlight some points.

[[** UPDATE **]]See this comment Sorry I was wrong, thank you for clearing this up
[[** UPDATE **]]Currently the Mac version of TrueCrypt does NOT support hidden volumes, so if you need data to be available on Windows, Mac and Linux, you will have to forgo hidden encrypted volume functionality for the time being. Remember hidden TrueCrypt volumes you have previously created will NOT work on Macintosh computers.

Currently the Mac version of TrueCrypt only seems to support the FAT file system. This is actually pretty logical . There is no native support for NTFS on Macintosh computers yet. If you already have a Windows based NTFS formatted encrypted volume, you may want to set up a new encrypted volume and format it to FAT so that you can mount the volume on multiple operating systems.

Below the fold is the full step by step instruction on how to create a free, portable, cross platform encrypted drive using TrueCrypt. The encrypted volume you create should allow you to move a secure encrypted file across windows, macintosh and linux computers. As long as you have the TrueCrypt application with you on something like a USB drive or TrueCrypt is pre-installed on your target computer you should be able to mount your encrypted file as a standard drive.

In previous posts I have espoused the virtues of portable applications, and provided a list of applications I keep installed on my USB Drive. One application I have used for a number of years is IDM Computer SolutionsUltra Edit. This feature rich text/hex editor has now been updated to be compatible with the U3 portable drive system. I haven’t installed it yet though. Why? Well I think the price is a bit steep, especially since I currently hold an unlimited upgrade license for Ultra-Edit, Ultra-Compare and Ultra-Sentry. I just cant justify the extra expense for another copy of Ultra-Edit, just for the privilege of having it run from a USB Drive. Since switching to a Mac I guess I feel spoiled by all the fantastic free software that is availible. The idea of paying for 2 copies of one application seems a little alien now. 😀